Basements in Single Family Areas

At the Public Hearing held on June 16, 2009, Council approved zoning changes to enable full-size basements and more livable basement suites in all single family areas.

Summary of Approved Zoning Changes

Slide Show - Approved Zoning Changes

Background

Providing more affordable housing choices throughout the City is a top priority of Council. Facilitating basements in houses helps to meet this goal by providing more opportunities for rental secondary suites in single family areas.

On June 10, 2008, Vancouver City Council instructed staff to report back on "Enabling basements that can accommodate suites …", as part of EcoDensity Action C-6: "More Options for Rental Secondary Suites."

Public Open Houses - March, 2009

Vancouver residents have told us that single family zoning does not permit a suitable size house that also includes a full basement.  As a result, many houses have either a partial basement or no basement at all, especially on smaller lots. 

In response to these concerns, the Planning Department is proposing an option for single-family zoning that would permit additional floor area in the basement of a house. This option could also make it easier to add a second floor to an existing one-storey house.

Below is a PDF of the display boards from the public open houses held on March 3, 2009 at Sunset Community Centre, March 5, 2009 at Renfrew Park Community Centre and March 9, 2009 at Kerrisdale Community Centre.

Click here to review the Open House Display Panels (400 kb)

 Council Meeting - May, 2009

On May 5, 2009, Council referred proposed zoning changes to a Public Hearing, to be held on June 16, 2009. The May 5th Council meeting agenda, minutes, and video are posted on the City website (see web link below). The item is listed in the agenda under “POLICY REPORTS” and is titled “1. Enabling Basements in Single Family Districts.”

Link to the Vancouver City Council Meeting on May 5, 2009

Download the Basements in Single Family Areas Report (800 kb)

Proposed Zoning Changes

Zoning by-law amendments are proposed for all single family (RS) zones where needed to enable functional and livable basements. There are two parts to the proposal, summarized below.

Part 1: More Functional Basements 

a) Add an option to single family zoning to permit a house with:

• More floor area overall (up to 0.70 FSR);
• Less floor area above grade (0.45 FSR or less);
• All additional floor area in the basement; and
• A smaller house footprint (25% of lot area).

b) For existing houses, permit a basement provided that:

• Total floor area is not more than 0.75 FSR;
• Above grade area is not more than 0.50 FSR; and
• The house footprint is not more than 25% of lot area.

c) Continue to permit houses that may be built under current zoning. These houses usually provide the maximum floor area allowed above grade, and may not qualify to add a full basement.

Part 2: More Livable Basement Suites 

To improve livability by allowing basements to be built higher out of the ground, two options will be presented for consideration at the Public Hearing. 

Option 1

• Increase outright basement height by one foot; and
• Relax basement height by an additional 1.6 feet to improve livability on difficult sites, i.e. sloping lots or areas with shallow sewer depths. Relax building height in the RS-1 zone by up to 1.6 feet to accommodate a basement height relaxation.

Option 2

• Increase outright basement height by two feet; and
• Increase outright building height in the RS-1 zone by one foot to accommodate the basement height increase. (Note: In 1986, maximum building height in the RS-1 zone was lowered from 35 feet down to 30 feet.)

The proposal to increase basement height was not presented at the Public Open Houses. However, both options respond to feedback received during the consultation period. Option 1 was proposed in the staff report to Council. Option 2 was recommended by Council at the May 5th Vancouver City Council meeting.

More information on the Proposed Zoning Changes

The proposal in Part 1 is described in more detail on pages 4-7 of the Basements in Single Family Areas Report (see link above). The proposal is also described on pages 4-8 of the Open House Display Panels (see link above). Option 1, of the proposal in Part 2, is described on pages 8-9 of the Basements in Single Family Areas Report (see link above).

Public Hearing - June, 2009

At the June 16, 2009 Public Hearing, Council heard comments from members of the public before making a decision on the proposed zoning by-law changes.

Link to more information on the Public Hearing Process 

To see the Public Hearing agenda and minutes, click here,

Staff contact: Paul Nowlan - 604.873.7712 - paul.nowlan@vancouver.ca